IMF urges India to lift rice export ban

NEW DELHI, July 26 (Xinhua) -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has encouraged India to remove restrictions on the export of a certain category of rice, saying it would have an impact on global inflation.

The Indian government on July 20 banned the export of non-Basmati white rice to boost domestic supply and keep retail prices under check.

Such restrictions are likely to exacerbate volatility in food prices in the rest of the world and lead to retaliatory measures, which can be harmful globally, Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, IMF's Chief Economist and Director of the Research Department, told a press conference after the release of the World Economic Outlook on Tuesday.

The IMF also projected India's gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate to be 6.1 percent this year, well above the regional average of 5.3 percent.

"It's moderating after a very strong 2022. But we have an upside revision of 0.2 percentage points for 2023. And that's really the knock-on effect of a very strong ending for 2024 with government and private investment," Daniel Leigh, division chief of the IMF Research Department, said.